January 05, 2009

Manny? Don't Even Think It

If the Rangers are seriously considering making a play for Manny Ramirez, then it's time for reconstruction at The Ballpark in Arlington, too, and not just down the street at JerryWorld.

The good news is, they're not.

Yes, Scott Boras did make a call to Rangers' general manager Jon Daniels, which is obviously the genesis for Jon Heyman's report on SI.com that Texas might be interested in the slugging free agent outfielder. But Daniels quickly let Boras know that Manny is just not a good fit here right now.

Sure, the Rangers could use a right-handed bat and someone who could replace Milton Bradley in the cleanup spot behind Josh Hamilton, but for the Rangers to spend the kind of money it will take to sign Ramirez on anything other than pitching would be criminal and somebody in the Rangers' front office would have to go to the penitentiary for foisting that off on the team's long-suffering fandom.

It wouldn't be the first time Boras has used a sport writer to try to create a buzz about one of his clients and, as Heyman noted, the Rangers did show some interest in Ramirez five years ago when he was with the Red Sox. But that was when they were trying to unload A-Rod and the only way a deal with the Red Sox could possibly work financially was if Boston got rid of Ramirez in the same trade.

Heyman went on to say that the Rangers had received a few inquiries about Michael Young and right-hander Vicente Padilla.

My thought: If there's a team, the Braves for instance, out there interested in Padilla, allowing the Rangers to get out of the rest of his contract (thus allowing them to stay in the Ben Sheets chase), Daniels should be putting Vicente on his shoulders right now, so that he can personally deliver him to Atlanta.